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Marathon, Florida Keys

Capt. Bob Brown
December 21, 2005
Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report

Sardines Everywhere - Sailfish Bustin Loose!

The Sailfish action in the middle Florida Keys has been red hot lately with some unbelievable catches being reported. Some of the local Sailfish tournaments have seen record catches and 20 fish days becoming more reality than fantasy any more. The large amounts of spanish sardines that have been hanging around the area has caused the Sailfish to put on a surface feeding display that has bordered on awesome. As many as 80-90 fish feeding on large schools of sardines that get pushed into a tight ball have been seen. Charter boats catching 9 sailfish in 90 minutes has been common in the past two weeks. multiple hook-ups have abounded. Double header, triple header, quadruple header.....do you want to go for 5-6-7 on at a time??? Can you imagine the head boats Sailfishing, twenty on at a time??? Unbelievable! I know that is imagination, but when you come up on a school of baitfish with 80 sailfish thrashing through them munching away, the mind would have to wander..... Tbis phenomenon may last for who knows how long, but as long as the baitfish schools hang around, the sailfish will hang around too. Makes it hard to go target two pound Yellowtail Snapper when the sails are bustin loose!

Yellowtail Biting, However!

Yes it may be hard to go target Yellowtail Snapper when you are a sailfisherman at heart, but at least they have been biting quite well lately. The deep edge of the reef has been good in 50-90ft of water, and the patch reef fishing for medium sized tails has been good too. Mangrove Snapper have been cooperative on the patches as well, along with a few Muttons. Mackerel have moved in also in force. Kings, Cero and Spanish mackerel have taken over certain areas of the reef and they too have found the schools of sardines that I mentioned the sailfish have been feeding on. The water has been frothing up like a Florida keys pina colada in areas where the mackerel meet up with the sardines. Add in some fiesty Jack Crevalle and the reef area has been crazy with diving birds & frothing water from all the fish eating all the sardines. Quite a site to see. Sailfish have even been finding these baitfish up in 20ft of water as one captain found out when he hooked 6 sailfish in about an hour at that same depth.

Spanish Mack Attack

Florida Bay has been loaded with spanish mackerel the past few weeks and the action has been non stop from 7-13 miles out north of Marathon. Anglers have been able to load up on the macks in an hour or two or about one block of chum to catch a limit of 10 per person. Talk about fast action! The wrecks have been producing some good catches of snapper, grouper and some sharks out in the Bay as well.

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Light tackle sportfishing for Sailfish, Tarpon, and other sport fish in the middle Florida Keys. Since 1980 Capt Bob has been putting anglers on the big fish! Offshore, reef/wreck, Gulf wrecks, and Tarpon fishing. Live bait specialist, tournament winners!

Contact Info:

Sundance Sportfishing Adventures
PO Box 504345
Marathon, FL 33050
Phone: 800-282-1712
Alt. Phone: 305-289-1542
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